Blind Item: The Grim Reaper's About to Claim the Life of a Beloved Leading Lady!

UPDATE: BLIND ITEM SOLVED! You know how hard you usually work to identify the subject of our blind items? You may not wanna do that today, because once you figure out who this one’s about, you’re probably not gonna like it!

You see, a longish-running (more than four seasons but fewer than nine), 60-minute series is gearing up to bump off one of its lead female stars. Even more upsetting, the soon-to-be-deceased is going to meet her maker off screen. (Her “last” episode will take place at her funeral. Closed-casket, even!)

That the actress in question is on her way out won’t come entirely as a shock, mind you — for a while, the writing’s been on the wall, if not on her character’s tombstone. But, since you won’t get a chance to say a proper, sorta in-person goodbye, it’s highly likely there will be a bit of backlash.

So, do you dare wager a guess as to whom is about to become roadkill? Hit the comments below.

Agreeing with the comments about Kim Delaney on Army Wives. I highly doubt any show is going to kill off a lead female character halfway through a season, offscreen, with Sweeps Month just around the corner. This only makes sense if the show is between seasons, and by killing the character off screen they don’t have to pay for the actress to return for one episode. Brutal, but TV’s a business first and foremost. The only other show I can think of that fits this is Rookie Blue, but as season 3 has only just finished I doubt they’ve started scripting season 4 yet. Army Wives is already into the contract negotiation stage.

Rookie Blue is already filming season 4, but I doubt it is the show the blind item is talking about since it is not coming back until about May. Set your sights on a show that is coming back in the fall.

*more than four* suggest that is five up. Also, none of the Rookie Blue girls have been absent, or their deaths (by a car accident?) wouldn’t be a total shock! Besides, they’re Canadian! They don’t just kill people for the sake of killing people! (Unless it’s The Listener!)

It’s not Army Wives, jeesh. The episode in question is obviously filmed already and is a FALL show, not next spring/summer. Army Wives has not started renegotiating contacts with any cast members and they certainly haven’t even started writing season 7 and the show won’t go back into production for months yet.

Still think you are wrong, Maria. If you watch the show, you know what lengths they have gone to to try to explain KD’s absence………ridiculous. Much better to write her out since it appears she is not able to fulfill her contract. It has been a distraction. I hope this will take care of that.

Jenny on GGs memorial service” was a foiller it said right underneath plus she’s been off the show for a long time not in season 5 or 6,only a couple episodes of season four.)Why would they write her out twice?leaving for Hudson to live with her mom end of season three was once now to kill her?makes no sense.We wouldve hear if she was coming back/being written out again before this.

I was thinking Hetty, too… since she has “resigned” and been absent so many times it really has kind of felt like she was leaving. I hope not!! They just started Season 4, so hopefully that makes it too young.

Hetty just told Callen last Tuesday that if she died she wanted no big funeral or flowers. She said this while standing in a a cemetary after visitng Hunter’s grave. I got a chill because I ahd read this item just before I watched the show. It better not be Hetty as she is the heart and soul of NCIS-LA. I love Linda Hunt!

I have no life, so I’m gonna analyze each hour-long show on the air 1-by-1, k?
Castle- I was gonna say nah, but then I saw “closed-casket”. Shivers.
Private Practice- Shonda Rhimes is notorious for killing off characters.
Criminal Minds- I know nothing about this show.
The Mentalist- Possibly
Gossip Girl- It’s the final season. Who knows?
90210/TVD- I don’t really care about these shows
Supernatural- There’s not even a leading lady as far as I know (I don’t watch)
Dexter- The most likely. It’s a show about a serial killer, after all.
I’m still at a loss.
Does the 4-9 season limitation include shows in seasons 4 and 9?

Like I said before, the hint they give is: “That the actress in question is on her way out won’t come entirely as a shock, mind you — for a while, the writing’s been on the wall, if not on her character’s tombstone.”

NO ONE on Castle, Bones, Criminal Minds or Private Practice matches that. Bones and Castle are not multiple cast shows — they’re on-lead shows. They only have one lead, and the show wouldn’t work without them. Not only both are alive and well, have been in all episodes, and it would be a shock, but the “one of the leads” phrasing would work for them.

For Criminal Minds, none of the women fits the criteria. JJ and Garcia have been in every episode, strongly (especially JJ), with no death threats, with nothing that would indicate they’d leave, no rumors, nothing. Jeanne Tripplehorn has just joined.

For Private Practice, Addison would be the only one whose exit is imminent. All the others, again, have been in pretty much all episodes with strong story arcs, no exit rumors, nothing that would make us think. A death for Amelia, Violet or Charlotte would certainly come out of nowhere. Don’t fit the “won’t come entirely as a shock” criterion. Even for Addison, as Shonda has been promising a happy farewell (though, you know not to trust Shonda). BUT, they’ve JUST had an off-scream death. Would she do another, when Shonda is blood-thirsty?

I don’t watch the rest, but Kate Beckett has had someone trying to kill her for seasons. She got shot last season. Even after Monday’s episode, anyone with half a brain knows she’s still in some kind of danger.

But even someone with half a brain knows Castle is a one-lead show, and no Beckett, no show. Also, killed her off in a car accident would be, well, just plain stupid ;-) And, Ausiello just ruled out ABC shows! :)

Lisa on Supernatural. She’s like the only lady left up in the air (aka not killed off, besides Meg and the Sheriff), and her character has been dealt with. I could see Dean somehow hearing of her death and attending her funeral.

Oh Lord NO! Then we would have to find something to do with Ben and no, just no!! Actually Supernatural is the one show that should be safe from this spoiler. They don’t have any female leads. It could be the new recurring female character being introduced this year (to avoid spoilers). But she can hardly be called a lead.

Hart of Dixie: No, starting second season
Private Practice: No, ( as bad as shonda can be I believe she will let Addison have a happy ending)
Bones: No, there has been no hint that a character is on its way out.
Big Bang Theory: no, 30 minute
TVD: NO, starting 4th season
Grey’s anatomy: no, starting 9th season
Gossip Girl: no, in my oppinion there has been no writing on the wall for any character.

Gemma is probably my favorite female character ever but at this point I’d rather see her get killed off because what the writers are doing to her character is tragic. And I’ve lost interest in the show as a whole so at least with her gone, I will be able to stop watching. Jmo.

I know people have established it’s not Grey’s but does anyone think they might kill Izzie off off-camera this season like they were going to last year? She said Alex would get closure this year and Shondra doesn’t want Katherine Heigl back even though she wants to come back.

It’s Van Pelt from the Mentalist. Fits perfectly actually. The actress is pregnant IRL, so in order to avoid headaches trying to write it in the storyline,the screenwriters will get rid of this character and replace her with another.Simple as that.
Quote: “Ausiello: Amanda Righetti’s real-life pregnancy (which, as we previously reported, will not be written into Van Pelt’s storyline) will create a vacancy on the show’s canvas this spring — one that may or may not be filled. “It’s hard to say how long [she’ll be gone] because these things are not predictable,” admits exec producer Bruno Heller, adding, “We’re talking about [whether to bring in someone new] now.”

He has confirmed that it is not an ABC show. If it’s someone from any of the CSI or Law & Order shows, I don’t watch any of them, so cannot speculate. Perhaps Astrid from Fringe, or maybe Fiona or Maddie from Burn Notice, none of which I would like to see. I also hope it is not Elizabeth from White Collar, but I think she’s too valuable to the show. Another possibility I don’t like but seems possible would be Joan Campbell from Covert Affairs. That’s if cable shows are included in this, of course.

Please let it be Gemma Teller. She’s turning into a monster she was long time ago and this is painful. I can’t see her like this it breaks my heart. Get on with it already, the brain behind sons. Let her die. Most of her truly loyal fans will accept that.